A Woman's Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Blog

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If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space

I was recently telling my husband that at this point in my training, one of the main reasons I do Jiu-Jitsu is for the exercise, and he pointed out that there are less dangerous ways to work out, so I responded “Yeah, But I won’t do them, because they are boring“. In order for me to want to stick with a workout routine, it has to challenge my mind as well as my body, and BJJ accomplishes that in so many different ways. Even from a self-defense perspective, I would be more likely to die from a lack of working out in general, rather than from any type of physical attack, so if Jiu-Jitsu can also help me stay in shape as I age, then I think it’s worth it.

Ever since I realized that my main objective in Jiu-Jitsu is really just to get my sweat on, it’s been easier to deal with feeling like I’m always going to be on the bottom of the food chain in the advanced classes at LBJJC, because I get the same kind of intense workout no matter how many times I get tapped! I’m not saying that I don’t still want to improve, but when I’m satisfied with just doing the best I can, then it takes some pressure off, so I enjoy training more.

Sometimes I still get frustrated and discouraged with Jiu-Jitsu, but one thing I don’t think I’ll ever get is bored with it. In eight years of training, I’ve been submitted hundreds of times, and not once have I ever thought “Oh, someone is trying to choke me again, how boring.”, every single time I’m still like “No, dammit, NOOOOOO!”.

I guess I even enjoy the “dangerous” aspect of BJJ, because it’s like thrill-seeking, but with little chance of actual death, so what better form of exercise could there be? Most people are not even close to being in as good of shape as I am at the age of (almost) 48, and that credit goes to Jiu-Jitsu (and me for not quitting ;).